Puppet



Jan. 27, 11953 TIPMAN 2,626,480

PUPPET Filed Nov. 29, 1950 //Yl/E/Y 7 05 Patented Jan. 27, 1953 PUPPET Ruby Tipman, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Application November 29, 1950, Serial No. 198,059 In Canada March 25, 1950 3 Claims.

The invention herein relates to puppets, dolls,

' manikins, marionettes or the like.

his an object of the invention herein to provid a puppet, preferably in human form, whose actions, when properly actuated, will closely simulate those of its human counterpart.

A second object is to provide a puppet that may be manufactured cheaply from readily obtainable materials by semi-skilled labour.

A further object is to provide a puppet whose actuating mechanism will be completely conwhereinthe movement of one of its lower -apj penda'ges will result-in the simultaneous movement of its opposite upper appendage and vice verse. to simulateclosely the actions of themoving humanform'.

Other objectsand advantages of the invention herein will become obvious from the following specification when read in the light of the attached drawings, it being understood that the preferred embodiment described and illustrated is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be construed as a limitation. The invention herein is to be limited only by the appended claims and by the prior art.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 illustrates the completed puppet in its unclad form with the front cover removed to illustrate more clearly the actuating mechanisms.

Figure 2 illustrates the front cover plate.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 the device is constructed to represent a human being and consists of a trunk portion composed of a back piece I, a front piece 2, a pair of upper appendages or arms 3 and 4, a moveable head 29, and a pair of lower appendages or legs consisting of thigh portions 9, 9, calf portions Iii, Ill, and feet I2, I2.

The back piece I is formed in the shape of an hour glass, being wide at the top or shoulders, constricted at the waist and widened again at the bottom or hips. The back piece I serves as a mounting plate for the head, arms and legs as well as the operating mechanism of the puppet. The front piece 2 acts as a shield or guard to prevent the covering garments of the puppet from interfering with the moving parts.

2 The head is mounted at one end of a length of resilient tubing 2| the other end of which is secured in the block 22 which is fastened to the back piece I as indicated. The arms 3 and 4 are pivotally connected at 5 and 6 to the upper corners or shoulders of the back piece I. While the arms 3 and 4 are shown in one piece it is obvious that they may be jointed at the elbow if desired.

The thigh portions 9, 9 of the legs are narrowed, at their upper ends, into blade-like portions I4, Id and are pivotally attached to the mounting blocks I'5, I5 at I and 8, the mounting blocks I5, I5 are secured to the lower corners of the back piece I, and the lower ends of the thigh portions 9, 9 are pivotally connected at II in a simple tongue and groove joint to the calf portions Ifi, I0. The'lower ends of the calf portions I0, II) are connected to the feet I2, I2.

The faces of the mounting blocks I5 I5 are formed at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the back piece 'I so that the le s and feet of .the puppet will. operateaboutpthe pivotal connections 7 and 8 at an angle of approximately degrees. with respect .to one another.

The actuating springs I6, I6. are firmlyfixed atI 1, I1 to...a'second pair of mountingblocks I8, I8 attached to the back piece I at a point slightly below the pivotal connections 5 and 6 of the arms 3 and 4. The mounting faces of the blocks I8, I8 are formed at an equal opposite angle to the angular faces of the mounting blocks I5, I5 in order that the flat side of the mounted actuating springs I6, I 6 will operate flush against the narrow width of the blade-like portions I 4, I4.

Simultaneous movement of one of the arms with its opposite lower leg is achieved by means of crossed wires or cords I9, I9 extending from points at the upper rear corners of the bladelike portions I 4, I4 to points near the pivotal connections of the arms 3 and 4. It will be obvious that the points of connections to the arms 3 and 4 must, to assure adequate leverage, be above a horizontal line drawn through the pivotal points 5 and 6.

To operate the puppet, the actuating springs I6, I6 are pressed into the constricted centre or waist portion of the trunk bringing the ends of the springs into contact with the blade-like portions l4, M. This will swing the legs of the puppet upwardly and outwardly and at the same time tighten the connecting wires l9, I9 to elevate the puppet arms 3 and 4. Immediately the pressure on the actuating spring I6, I6 is released, the springs I6, I6 and the legs and arms will return to their normal positions as seen in Figure 1. A pair of stops 23 are provided on the back piece i to limit the movement of the actuating spring I6, and to prevent the spring ends from being forced past the bladelike portions [4, M. It will be noted that the blade-like portions [4, H! are widened at their upper ends towards the actuating springs l6, [6. This has been done to obtain the maximum leverage and upward swing of the leg with a limited movement of the actuating springs I6, [6,

In operation, the puppet is assembled substantially as illustrated and described. Suitable garments such as, for example, a vest over detached sleeves and pantaloons having a clinging appearance, should be provided to enhance further the life-like appearance of the puppet. However, any clothing provided should be of sufficiently loose and pliable form not to cause binding of any of the moveable parts. The lifelike appearance of the puppet would be further enhanced by the inscription of suitable features on the head 20.

The puppet is grasped in one hand so that the thumb and index finger rest against the actuating springs I6, [6. As previously described, inward pressure on the actuating springs l6, [G will bring the spring ends against the blade-like portions I4, I4 pivoting them about the pivotal points I and 8 and elevating the legs of the puppet. The movement of the blade-like portions I 4, [4 will automatically tighten the connecting wires [9, [9 to elevate the arms 3 and 4 coincidentally with movement of the legs. While the above-described movements would occur if the actuating springs l6, l6 were pressed simultaneously, it will readily be appreciated that alternate movement of the legs with their associated arms may be achieved by pressing the springs alternatively. This alternate pressure is to be preferred as the toy may then be made to tap dance, jig or prance in an extremely lifelike manner. This life-like movement is further enhanced by the head 20 swaying from side to side on its rubber mounting while the toy is being actuated.

While, in the embodiment described and illustrated, the puppet is constructed and actuated to simulate a human being; it should be understood that the device could be constructed and actuated to simulate other forms such as, for example, an animal or insect without departing from the essence of this invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A puppet comprising a vertically elongated trunk portion with upper shoulder corners and lower hip corners, said hip corners carrying mounting blocks with oblique front faces, arms pivotally mounted on the upper shoulder corners and legs pivotally mounted on the oblique front faces of the mounting blocks, cam blades at the upper end of the legs, vertically extending leaf spring actuators mounted on said body at their upper end and pressing upon said cam blades at their ends so that when pressed they will move said legs obliquely outwardly and forwardly and a transverse connection between each of the legs and the opposite arms to give a simultaneous outward movement of a leg and a diagonally opposed arm,

2. The puppet of claim 1, the oblique front faces of said mounting blocks being at an angle of degrees to each other and at an angle of 45 degrees to the body structure.

3. The puppet of claim 1, said leaf springs first extending inwardly at the upper part of the body and then outwardly at the middle portion of the body, then inwardly again to bear against and contact said cam blades.

RUBY TIPMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 207,188 Martin Aug. 20, 1878 839,770 Kalkbrenner Dec. 25, 1906 1,210,266 Bickelhaupt Dec. 26, 1916 1,580,749 Marchand Apr. 13, 1926 2,551,195 Wirth May 1, 1951 

